Posters, digital walls, lightbox placements, and other similar ad locations are mostly confined to displaying static advertisements that offer no interaction, but researchers from the Keio University in Japan are working on methods to facilitate interactivity in poster ads. A big fan of Japanese female celebrities or “idols,” researcher Keidai Ogawa sought out to find how posters of these idols can react to their respective viewers. To this end, Ogawa has created an interactive poster system that “kisses” a viewer who gets close enough; when the viewer pulls back, the image subsequently renders a bashful and giggly expression.

The system is composed of an ultrasound sensor that gauges the viewer’s proximity to the image, which changes depending on his distance to it. Ogawa and his team are looking into methods of providing a more holistic sensual experience, such as adding the scent of shampoo on the hair, lemon-flavored film on the lip regions (for kissing), or a speaker that whispers “I love you.”